This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Hillside Avenue Fire Causes $160,000 in Damage

The garage fire caused no injuries, officials said.

A garage fire on Albany Hill in March caused extensive damage to a five-story home on Hillside Avenue, authorities said this week.

At least seven family members were staying in the house, including one out-of-town visitor, said Battalion Chief Brian Crudo of the . The American Red Cross responded, but the family members were able to stay with someone they knew rather than use the agency's shelter services.

The fire, on March 22, started in the garage, Crudo said. It was reported by a neighbor at 1:17 p.m. 

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"When we came up to the house, there was smoke showing," he said. "There was smoke coming out of two plastic skylights in the garage. They had melted and the smoke was venting."

Crudo said firefighters cut holes in both garage doors to put water hoses through. They ultimately had to cut the doors out completely to extinguish the flames.

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He called the damage inside the garage "pretty extensive." Many items, including sports equipment, a motorcycle and a five-gallon gas can, had been stored inside. Firefighters dragged item after item into the driveway to clear the area.

Someone who knew the family told firefighters two women might be inside the home, Crudo said. Firefighters from Albany and Berkeley formed a rescue group to search the house, but found no one inside.

Crudo said the house filled with smoke through an interior hole in the garage, which made rescue efforts challenging. But the garage , which stopped the fire from spreading, he said.

Family members who left the house at about 9:10 a.m. said they didn't notice anything amiss, he added.

Crudo, who is also the city's fire marshal, said the cause of the fire was inconclusive.

"I couldn't find anything that was plugged in, but I couldn't rule out an electrical cause," he said. "I also couldn't rule out spontaneous combustion."

Gas, oil, paint and straw mats in the garage could have soaked up heat and caught fire, he said. The family told him nothing in the garage had been plugged in.

Before firefighters arrived, a neighbor reported hearing an explosion from the garage, and seeing smoke.

"It could have been paint cans, or aerosol cans," said Crudo. "But I didn't see a can that exploded."

The fire was under control at 1:54 p.m. Albany's Police and Public Works departments responded to the scene as well.

Crudo said good housekeeping can go a long way toward fire prevention. 

"Just make sure your appliances are unplugged. Turn off your lights. Keep anything combustible away from a furnace or heaters," he said. "Don't use extension cords as permanent wiring. Use UL-rated heavy cords. The small ones overheat. And don't plug power strips into each other."

There were four fires in Albany in March, including  earlier in the month.

Everyone makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325, or email her at emilier@patch.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.